Fascioliasis

fascioliasis

[fə‚sē·ə′lī·ə·səs]

(medicine)

The infection of humans with Fasciola hepatica.

Fascioliasis

a helminthiasis of animals and man; one of the trematodiases. It is caused by the common liver fluke and giant liver fluke, which parasitize man, cattle, sheep, swine, and other animals. The eggs are deposited mainly in the bile ducts of the liver and gall-bladder and are later excreted with the feces. The flukes continue their cycle of development in water and in snails, their intermediate hosts. Infection occurs when the larvae are swallowed with water and plants. In man, a fever develops within two to four weeks, together with a cough and skin eruptions. The liver enlarges and becomes tender. Acute manifestations gradually subside and the disease becomes chronic, a condition marked chiefly by digestive disorders and enlargement and tenderness of the liver.

Fascioliasis of animals occurs worldwide and may be acute or chronic. In the USSR it affects cattle and other bovines and camels, horses, and hares. The animals are infected in pastures. Hepatitis develops and results in impaired metabolism. The parasites’ toxins alter the morphological and chemical composition of the blood. Infected animals manifest loss of appetite, diarrhea, debilitation, and liver enlargement. Milk secretion is reduced in cows. In sheep, severe infestation is fatal.

In man, fascioliasis is treated with Chloxyl or emetine; in animals it is treated with Hexychol, bithionol, or carbon tetrachloride. The disease is prevented in man by boiling or filtering drinking water. It is prevented in animals by changing pastures, exterminating snails, and carrying out other sanitary measures.

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